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T. HOUSE. DRAWER LOCK. APPLICATION FILED SEPT.-19. 19H- Patented Aug. 5, 1919. 2 SHEETS-SHEET l null/110a llllr/lllgllllg/ VII/III!!! T. M. HOUSE T. M. HOUSE.

DRAWER LOCK.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 19. 1911.

1 ,3 1 2,032; Patented Aug. 5, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

a a 1T 24 a j gvvvwvtoz T mHousE abbozweq V drawer lock and more referred to without THOMAS M. HOUSE, OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR TO SEWARD TRUNK AND DRAWER-LOCK.

Application filed September To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS House, a citizen of the United States, residing at Richmond, in the county of Henrico and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to an improved particularly to a sim ple and effective device for locking a series of d awers in a wardrobe trunk.

It is the primary object of my invention to provide means mounted upon the rear wall of the trunk section which is automati cally actuated when. one of the drawers is inserted into the trunk and caused to co-act with means on the remaining drawers to securely lock the latter within the trunk section.

It is another and more particular object of the invention to provide a rectilinearly movable locking bar mounted upon the rear wall of the trunk section, drawer actuated means operatively connected to said bar and including means for imparting a vertical and lateral movement to the bar, and keeper elements on the rear walls locking engagement by said bar.

It is also another object of my invention to provide a trunk drawer lock as above characterized, the several cooperating elements of which are so mounted and arranged that the a possibility of cutting or otherwisemarring' the lining of the trunk wallsin the operative movement of the parts is precluded.

And it is a further general object of my invention to provide a drawer locking device for wardrobe trunks which is highly serviceable and convenient in practical use, consists of relatively few. parts of form and which, therefore, may be factured and applied manumaterially incl. -asing the cost of production.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Drawer-Locks,

of the drawers for the angular metal drawersupporting sim pl e to trunks of the type tion of a wardrobe trunk, several of the drawers being removed; i

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; s i

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing drawers locked Within the trunk section Fig. 4. is a detail horizontal section taken on the line -ll of Fig. 2; i

Fig. 5 is a horizontal the line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view showing certain of the operating parts for the lock ing bar; i

Fig. 7 is section taken on a fragmentary perspective view illustrating the manner of engagement of the locking bar with the keeper on certain of the drawers; and

. Fig. 8 is a similar view showing a slightly different form of the keeper member used upon the invertible trunk drawer.

eferring in detail to the drawings, 5 designates onesection of a wardrobe trunk which may be constructed in any or approved form but, as shown, is provided upon: the inner faces of its side walls with strips 6. Preferably, though not necessarily, one or more horizontal boards or walls indicated at 7, is riveted or otherwise secured upon the corresponding metal strips 6 intermediate of the ends of the vertical trunk walls to brace and strengthen the walls against external pressures.

he several drawers indicated generally 1 be of any ClOSllGCl said drawers as well as the walls of 1 8, may.

Patented Aug. 5, 1919. 19, 1917. Serial No. 192,152.

ordinaiy the acp trunk, the lever tially at the same inclination as the arm 15' wall with a suitable lock indicated at 9, the bolt of which is adapted for engagement with a keeper 10 secured to the under side of the top wall of the trunk section.

As hereinbefore stated, it is the purpose of the present invention to provide means which, when the top drawer is moved into the trunk section into position to be locked, will automaticclly co-act with means on each of the other drawers and simultaneously lock the latter in the trunk section. To this end, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings what I have found to be a very simple and practical embodiment of the invention. This locking means includes a metal bar 11 which is movable in spaced relation to the rear wall of the trunk over the spaced wear plates 12. The terminals of a metal guide strip 13 which extends over the bar 11 are riveted, together with the ends of the plate 12, to the trunk wall.

To the rear wall of the trunk adjacent the top thereof, a metal plate 1 1 is suitably secured, and to this plate the longer arm 15 of a substantially V-shaped lever is pivotally connected at its end as indicated at 16. The relatively short arm 17 of said lever terminates in an angularly disposed flange 18 in which a slot 19 is provided. The upper end of the locking bar 11 is pivotally connected to said lever at the juncture point of the arms 15 and 17 as shown at 20.

To the under side of the top wall of the trunk section, a metal plate 21 is securely riveted, said plate being angularly bent adjacent one of its ends away from the trunk wall and terminating in a relatively narrow, upwardly projecting, angular lug 22. A rigid metal link 23 has a slot 24. in one of its ends, through which the lug 22 is loosely engaged. In spaced relation to its other end, said metal link is angularly bent as shown at 25 and said latter end of the link likewise terminates in a relatively narrow, angularly bent lug 26 which extends upwardly through the slot 19 in the flange 18 on the lever arm'! 17 and has loose engagement therein. V

A metal wear plate 27 is also secured to the. rear wall of the trunk section adjacent its lower end and, to this place, one end of a lever 28- 1s pivoted, as at 29, the other end of said lever being pivotally connected, as at 30, to the lower end ofthe locking bar 11.

The upper end of a coil spring 31 is atof the arm 15 of the V-shaped lever, the lower end of said spring being secured by the fastening rivet for the uppermost wear plate 12. This spring, by its contractile action, normally urges the locking bar 11 downwardly so that the lower end thereof engages the bottom wall of the 28 being disposed substanof the V-shaped lever. In this normal position of the locking bar, the link 23 extends downwardly and rearwardly at an inclination, as clearly seen in Fig. 2 of: the drawings.

The two lower drawers are relatively large and the second drawer from the bottom has a hinged rear wall 32 which is held in a vertical position by a spring latch plate 33 or in a folded position upon the bottom wall of said drawer by the spring plate 34-. When the wall 32 of the drawer is folded. inwardly and downwardly on the bottom wall, said drawer may be inserted into the trunk section in an inverted position when a large hat or other article is contained witlt in the lowermost drawer. To the rear edge of the bottom wall of this invertible drawer, a keeper plate 35 of the form shown in Fig. 8 0f the drawings, is secured, said plate having angularly bent portions terminating in oppositely extending keeper lugs 36. To the rear vertical wall of each of the other drawers with the exception of the top drawer, a keeper member 37. such as shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings, is secured, said member consisting simply of a metal strip fixed at one end to the drawer wall and having its other end angularly offset and spaced from said wall. By the provision of the keeper 35 for the invertible drawer as shown,

the locking bar will operatively engage one or the other of the terminal lugs 36 of said keeper in either position of the drawer.

To the rear wall of the trunk section, in spaced relation to each of its side walls, a vertical stop cleat 38 is Secured. These stop cleats limit the inward movement of the drawers so that they will not engage with the locking bar 11 or the lovers connected to the ends thereof.

The relatively narrow top drawer has a wear plate 39 centrally secured upon the upper edge of its rear wall, as seen in Fig. 3, said plate being bent centrally and the ends thereof extending downwardly upon the inner and outer faces of the drawer wall and securely riveted or otherwise fixed thereto.

Having above described the several featurse of my inmproved drawer locking dev1ce, its operation will be readily uiiderstood. All of the drawers with the exception of the top drawer, having been inserted into the trunk, said drawers may be simultaneously locked and held against outward movement simply by the insertion of the top drawer. hen this latter drawer is inserted, the wear plate 39 will engage the downwardly inclined link 23 and force said link upwardly toward the top wall of the trunk. In the upward movement of the rear end of this link, the V-shaped lever is swung upwardly and, owing to the angular relation of the pivoted arm 15 of this lever with the privilege of adopting the action of the spring 31 and, time, moved laterally in its guides toward the right and into co-acting engagement with the keeper elements on the several angularly bending the link 23 at its rear end, the possibility of the flanged end of the lever arm 17 and the connected end of bly engaged with the top wall of the trunk and distorted or in any way injured so that the proper operation of the device might be interfered with, is entirely obviated. When the top drawer 8 has been fully inserted and the other drawers looked as just explained, the lock 9 is operated by means of a key and the lock bolt engaged in the keeper 10. Thus, all of the drawers are securely ocked in the trunk section from a standing dividual locks for is avoided. It is also apparent that by the elimination of such separate locks, the man ufacturing cost of the trunk may also be appreciably reduced. By menas of the present invention, the series of drawers may be securely locked in the trunk section in an expeditious manner and with a minimum of manual exertion, so that the user will be assured of the security of the contents of said drawers when the trunk is left open or the sections thereof separated.

have above referred .to the particular mounting and arrangement of the locking bar upon the trunk wall, but it is to be un-- derstood that such mounting is susceptible of many mechanical variations and may be embodied in numerous alternative forms Therefore, while I have herein shown and. described what I at present believe to be the best embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that I expressly reserve all such legitimate modifications of which the invention is susceptible as may be fairly embodied within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I desire to claim and secure by Letters: Patent is:

1. The combination with a structure .having a, plurality of removable drawers, of .ocking means for said drawers including a movable locking member, a rigid element mounted at one of its ends upon one wall of said structure and operatively connected at a point imzerlnediate of its ends to said looking member, means on the drawers for operative engagement by said locking member, and drawer actuated means coacting with. the other end of saidelement to move said member to its effective locking position upon the insertion of the drawer.

to locking a vertically 2. The combination with a structure having a plurality of removable drawers, of a locking member mounted upon one wall of the structure, a rigid element mounted at one of its ends upon said Wall and operatively connected intermediate of its ends to the locking member, means secured to the rear walls of said drawers for engagement by the looking member, and drawer actuated means co acting with said element to move said memher to its elfective locking position upon the insertion of the drawer.

3. The con'ibination with a trunk section having a plurality of removable drawers, of a vertically and laterally movable bar mounted upon the rear wall of said trunk section, a lever operatively connected to the upper end of said bar and having diverging.

arms, one of which is pivotally mounted upon the trunk wall, means mounted upon the under side of the top wall of the trunk and connected to the other lever arm adapted to be operatively engaged by the top drawer is inserted to move the bar position, and means on the remaining drawers with which said bar co-acts to lock the latter drawers within the trunk section.

4;. The combination with a trunk section when the latter having a plurality of removable drawers, of

a locking member movably mounted upon the rearwall ofthe trunk section, an element pivotally mounted at one of its ends upon said trunk wall and operatively connected at a point intermediate of its ends to the locking member, means secured to the rear walls of the drawers for engagement by the locking member, and drawer actuated means coacting with said pivoted element upon the insertion of a drawer to move said member to its effective locking position.

5. The combination with a trunk section having a plurality of removable drawers, of a vertically and laterally movable locking bar mounted upon the rear wall of said trunk section, a lever operatively connected to said locking bar and having diverging arms, one of which is pivotally mounted on the trunk wall, a link loosely connected at one of its ends to the under side of the top wall of the trunk and operatively connected at its other end to the other arm of said lever, said llnk being engaged by the top inserted into the trunk section to actuate said leverand move the bar to locking position, and keeper elements on the remaining drawers for engagement by said bar to lock the latter drawers within the trunk section.

6. The combination with a trunk section having a plurality of removable drawers, of and laterally movable locking bar mounted upon the rear wall of the trunk section, alever having diverging arms, one

of which is pivotally mounted po real wall of the trunk, said locking bar being pivotally connected tosaid lever at the juncture of the arms, the other of said lever arms having an angularly disposed terminal flange, a plate movably supported at one end upon the under side of the top wall of the trunk and loosely connected at its other end to the flange of said lever arm, said plate being engaged by the top drawer-when the latter is inserted to actuate the lever and move the bar to locking position, and keeper elements on the remaining drawers with which said bar co-acts to simultaneously lock the latter drawers within the trunk section.

7. The combination with a trunk section having a plurality of removable drawers, of a movable locking bar mounted upon the rear wall of the trunk section, a lever pivotally mounted at one of its ends upon the trunk wall and operatively connected at a point intermediate of its ends to the-upper end of the locking bar, means secured to the rear walls of the drawers for engagement by the locking bar, and drawer actuated means mounted on the top wall of the trunk section and coacting with said pivoted lever upon the insertion of a drawer to move the looking bar to its effective locking position.

8. The combination with a trunk section having a plurality of removable drawers, of a movable locking bar mounted upon the rear wall of the trunk section, a lever pivotally mounted at one of its ends upon said rear wall and adjacent to the top wall of the trunk section, said lever being operatively connected to the locking bar, means on the rear walls of the drawers for engagement by the locking bar, and drawer actuated means mounted on the top wall of the trunk section and coacting-With the other end of said lever upon the insertion of the drawer to move said bar to its effective locking position. 7 or 9. The combination with a trunk section having a plurality of removable drawers, of a laterally movable bar mounted upon the rear wall of the trunk, a plate loosely mounted atone of its ends upon the under side of the top wall of the trunk, a movable element mounted upon the rear wall of the trunk and connected to the upper end of the locking bar, the other end of said plate being directly engaged with said element, said plate being engaged and actuated by the top drawer when inserted to move the bar to its locking position, and keeper elements on the remaining drawers with which said bar co-acts to simultaneously lock the latter drawers within the trunk section.

10. The combination with a trunk section having a plurality of removable drawers, of a vertically and laterallymovable locking bar mounted upon the rear wall of said trunk section, alever pivotally mounted upon the rear wall of the trunk for movement in a plane parallel thereto and pivotally connected to the upper end of the locking bar, said lever having an angularly disposed arm, means mounted upon the under side of the top wall of the trunk operatively connected to said lever arm and engaged by the top drawer when inserted into the trunk section to move the bar to its locking position, and keeper elements on the remaining drawers with which said bar co-aets to lock the latter drawers within the trunk section.

11. The combination with a trunk section having a plurality of removable drawers, of a vertically movable locking bar mounted upon the rear wall of said trunk section, a lever mounted at one of its ends upon said trunk wall. and above and at one side of the locking bar, the other end of the lever extending beyond the relatively opposite side of the locking bar, said bar at its upper end being operatively connected to the lever, means on the drawers for engagement by the locking bar, and drawer actuated means coacting with the latter end of the lever upon the insertion of a drawer to move the bar to its effective locking position.

12. The combination with a trunk section having a plurality of: removable drawers, oi? a vertically and laterally movable locking bar mounted upon the rear wall of said trunk section, levers pivotally mounted upon the rear wall of the trunk, said levers being pivotally connected respectively to the upper and lower ends of the bar, said upper lever having an angularly disposed arm, means movably mounted upon the under side of the top wall of the trunk section and operatively connected to said arm, the top drawer when inserted aotuatin said means to move the bar to its locking position, keeper elements on the remaining drawers with which said bar co-acts to simultaneously lock the latter drawers within the trunk section, and a lock for the top draw an 13. The combination with a trunk section having a plurality of removable drawers, of: a movable locking bar mounted upon the rear wall of said trunk section, levers movably mounted upon said trunk wall and operatively upper and lower ends of said bar, the upper lever being provided with an arm extending at an angle with respect to the locking bar, means on the rear walls of the drawers for engagement by said bar, and drawe' actuated means to coact with the arm of said upper lever upon the insertion of a drawer and move the bar to its effective locking position.

14. The combination with a trunk section having a plurality of removable drawers, of

a movable locking bar mounted upon the rear wall. of said trunk section, levers movably mounted upon said trunk wall and operatively connected respectively to the connected respectively to the i upper and lower ends of said her, the upper lever being provided With an arm extending above the upper end of the looking bar, means on the rear Walls of the drawers for engagement by said her, and drawer actuated means mounted upon the top Wall of the twink section to coact With the arm of said upper lever upon the insertion of a THOMAS M. HOUSE. Witnesses E. W. BuToHRYD, SAMUEL PRICE.

flfiopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

